Ball game apparatus



Oct. 27, 1959 w. R. lRwlN BALL GAME APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 A Filed June 26, 1958 lla n m/Hfn [m1/mm m '.g//Illlllr INVENTOR.

W R IRWlN AT] ORNEY Oct. 27, 1959 w. R. IRWIN BALL GAME APPARATUS Filed June 26, 1958 INVENTOR. W. R. IRWIN TTORNEY ct. 27, 1959 w, R, lRwlN 2,910,296

BALL GAME APPARATUS Filed June 26, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 llc:

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'2"" A 'roRNEY W. R. IRWIN United States Patent O 2,910,296 BALL GAME APPARATUS William R. Irwin, New York, N.Y. Application June 26, 195s, serial N6. 746,064

11 claims. (cl. 273-39) This invention relates to a game and is in part designed for use in a game using some of the principles of the real game of baseball. l

This application is aV continuation in part of my application Serial No. 468,737, filed November `15, 1954, now abandoned, and entitled Ball Game Apparatus.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a plurality of bats in the game thereby overcoming certain limitations and weaknesses of the game of baseball as it is played in almost all simulated versions of the game patterned after the original game. t

v Another object of the invention is to provide a game board with a novel arrangement of traps designed to receive pitched and battedy balls and to register hits, outs and other scoring. f

A further object of the invention is to provide such a game in which the delivery or travel characteristics of a ball being pitched or projected by a player acting as the pitcher, may be varied as to its speed, angle of delivery, balance and the like. t

Another object is to enable such variable delivery of the ball pitched by the player acting as pitcher to be determined in part fortuitously and in part by the skill of the player.

Another object is to providea gamejof the above mentionedtyplein which it is possible to change the placement of ay batting` device should the players so desire.

lA still further object of lthe invention is to pro-vide ball deflecting or `banking means on the iield of play and to vary the location and arrangement of such banking means. p

In carrying out my invention in one form I pro-vide a simulated baseball game of simple `construction which.

may be played indoors and which comprises a rectangularly shapedgame board having indicated thereon the infield and outfield of a baseball field. An actuable mechanical batting device is slidably mounted on a rod extending over the batters box, said rod being aixed to posts welded to the surface of the playing iield adjacent tothelsides of thebatters box. Integral with the batting device are two bats` each individually actuable, which provides in the game a simulation of both right and left handed batters. t

The slidable batting device enables the player acting as the batter to contact balls with differing rolling characteristics, overa wide range of space, which for purposes of the game extends the strike zone and the batters box to a much `larger proportion of the playing field of the game board than is used in the actual game of baseball.

The pitching apparatus of the game comprises a spring loaded gun swivelly mounted Vat the same end of the game board as the batting apparatus and located alongside but at a little distance from said batting apparatus.

The pitching gun has an external opening for receiving a `ball into a projection chamber where said ball is retained until it is projected upon the playing field through actuation .of said spring.

Patented Oct. 27, 1959 ICCV perpendicularly to the upper surface of the base member, by welding or other suitable method, said upper surface of the base member forming the playing surface upon which the balls used in the game are projected, batted and rolled, the walls forming the confines of the playing surface field except for various openings through said Walls which lead into ball traps formed near the outside edge ot the base member exterior to said walls.

Three of the said walls of the game board have open' ings as mentioned above, the fourth or end wall at which the batting and pitching devices are aixed having no such openings and being of different constnuction.

The long side walls and the end wall known generally and hereinafter referred to as the outfield wall, are of the same height and general construction, each having openings leading into the aforementioned ball traps. If desired the spaces between the said openings in the side walls and the outfield wall may have resilient strips aiiixed thereto for the purpose of banking `balls propelled by the pitching device back towards the batting apparatus, said strips serving also to deflect balls impelledby the batting device.

In place of or in addition to these resilient strips, a number of resilient banking members may be either permanently or adjustably positioned on the playing field apart from the Iield confining Walls.

The front wall at which the batting and pitching devices are `affixed is of shorter height than the opposite end wall or outfield wall and the sidewalls. The interior surface of the short wall is formed into a series of arcuate pockets extending the breadth of the wall wherein balls passing the batting and pitching apparatus have a tend,- ency to come to rest.

Each of the said arcuate pockets and each of the openings in the sidewalls-and outfield wall and each of the ball traps located on the base member exterior to said sidewalls and outfield wall haverinscribed thereon `or nearby a code symbol. When a ball comes to rest in any of the mentioned -arcuate pockets or ball traps cornparison of the code symbol of the particular pocket or ball trap in `which the ball is entrapped with a scoring list incorporated in written instructions for the play of fflqefwallap, the restansglar same beard are affixed.y

of resilientbanking strips;

the game will give the appropriate penalty or reward depending on whether the ball was pitched or batted.

The outcome of the game 'will depend 'upon the vary ing luck and skill of diierent players in actuating the pitching and batting devices. the pitcher will be minimized to a large extent through the novel construction and placement of the aforementioned resilient strips or banking members on the walls or on the field of play and through the provision of unbalanced balls for the play of the game which may be used by agreement between the players.

The game lasts for the usual nine innings, a player being at bat in one inning until three outs have been scored against him.

For a better understanding of the invention referencev should be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a plan View of the game board having indicated thereon three of the many possible courses a pitched ball may take. The various separations of the field it* self into infield, outfield, batters zone and the like are not shown in this ligure;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing parts of the playing field and contines;V

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective View of the slidable batting device;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the pitching device;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective View of the batting end of the game board;

Figs. 6a and 6b are perspective views of different forms In particular, the skill of` Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the game board with divisional markings delineated thereon;

Fig, 8 is al fragmentary plan view of a modified form of the game board inl which banking members are disposed on the el'd of play forwardly of the outfield wall;

Eig. 9 is a View similar to Fig, 8 in which the banking members are yadjustably positionable in the outfield area;-

Fig. 10 is a sectional view on the line 1lb-10 of Fig. 9

Fig. 11 is another View similar to Fig. 8 showing an alternate means for adjustably positioning the banking members in the outfield area, employing permanent magnets incorporated in the banking members; and' Fig. 12 is a sectional view on the line 12-12 of Fig. 111.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Figs. l to,7 the reference. character 10 designates the base member of the game board the upper surface of which serves as the playing surface, 11 indicates the perpendicular sidewalls, 11a indicates the rear or outiield wall and 11b indicates the front wall', which is of different constructijon than the side walls and the rear wall.

Ball traps 12 are` located on the base member external to the side Walls andthe rear wall. As heretofore mentioned, delineated' in eachball trap is a reference character, A to K, A1', A2', A3' and Z, which when compared to a listing of scoringv awards and penalties gives the award' or penalty for each trapped ball according to whether it is pitched or batted into the trap.

Rubber banking strips 13V are located on the interior of the side walls and the rear wall to de'ect pitched or batted balls. The primary purpose of the strips is to dciiect balls projected from the pitching device back to- Wards the batter. Weighted balls are provided which in combination with the resilient banking strips add an additional amount of chance to the play of the game for both the player acting as pitcher and' the player acting as batter but most particularly for the player acting as pitcher, the weighted balls being capable of describing widely curving courses. Unweighted balls are also provided to enable the pitcher 'to simulate the play of the realV game of baseball with a straight fast ball, or a change-up, straight slow ball.

To enable the player actuating the batting device to reach curved pitched balls thev batting device is slidably mounted on a rod 14, said rod being afiixed to posts 15 which are affixed to the base member 10. as described previously.

Arcuate pockets 16 are formed by curvatures of the interior surface of the wall 11b for the reception ofballs that escape the batting device, are out of the batting Zone, or roll back after being hit by the player actuating the batting device.

Openings 17 in the side walls and rear wall enable pitched or batted balls to enter the traps 12. Delineated above each openingl in the wall is a character which corresponds to the character inscribed in the trap itself.

Balls terminating their courses on the playing `field proper are adjudged according to the inscription delineated on that section of the eld wherein they come to rest and according to whether they are pitched or batted balls. This isy indicated on the playing iieldl as shown in Fig. 7 by the indicia marked, Out, Single and the like.

In Fig. 5,` the various parts of a` preferred form of batting` device are indicated.l 18 designates the hollow modied pistol shaped body of the device, 19 indicates,

the bats proper of which one simulates a right and the other a left handed batter, makingk it possible to use either or both bats for pitched balls delivered over a wide range of space.

A round shaft 2.0 is welded to each bat at a place corresponding toV the handle; of a bat, used in the. real game of baseball and a round disc 21 isweldede to each` said shaftsv a short distance above the bat proper. Brackets 22 are each fastened at; one end to the said modified pistol-like body of batting device the free end of each bracket having aV round', hole drilled vertically therethrough for the reception therein of the rounded shaft 20. The interior surface of the drilled hole in they bracket serves as a bearing surface for the rounded shaft enabling the bat proper, the disc 21 and the rounded shaft 2@ to be `actuated as a unit in a predetermined arc of swing. A retainer ring 23 is welded to each shaft above the bracket andserves. to keep. the.. relative position of each rod, disc and bat combination permanent with regard to the position of its bracket. A hook 24 is welded to each disc 21 for the purpose of attaching thereto one end of a spring 25, the other end ofthe spring being attached to a trigger-lever piece. 2L6which is supported pivotally on a round rod 27 which is transversely and rigidly affixed between opposite interior walls of the handle part of the modified pistol shaped body of the batting device. The trigger-lever pieces are kept. in position relative to each other by retaining rings 30 which; are welded to rodv 27.

The entire batting device assembly may be slidably moved on rod 14 by means of a retaining bracketreye 28 formed on the upper surface of the modiiied pist0llike body. i

Slots 29 cut into the rear ofy the handle of said. pistollike body allow the triggers which protrude through Said,V slots to be depressed. Pressure on a, trigger causes the trigger-lever to pivot on the rod 27' and to pull the spring4 25 which in turn causes the disc 21 to rotate with shaft 20 and bat 19 bringing the bat sharply forward in a fixed arc. In the play of' the'game the player acting as batter may actuate either or both bats as often as he wishes in order to contact any pitched ball.

The ball propelling device illustrated in Fig, 4 includes, the ball feed opening 31, ball retaining depression 3,2, ejection barrel 33 and plunger stop 34. The plunger stop is formed as part of the shell of the ball propelling, device. A spring 35 retained between an L shaped plunger 36 and a spring limit stop 37 may be compressed by pulling on the cord 39, which is attached to the plunger by a hook 38 welded to the plunger. Hindrance, to pulling the plunger back with a cord going through a change of direction is eliminated by the rollers 41 and, 43 which turn freely on round rods 40 and 42 respectively, said round rods being fixed immovably between the interior walls of the propelling device.y A ringv 44 is at-.. tached to the end of theI cordY 39 for facility in grasping' the cord and pulling same to compress spring 35` between, the plunger 36 and stop 37.

The propelling unit has Welded to its underside a ball joint 45 which is emplaced in a socket base 46 Welded to the b-ase member 10. The ball joint and socket allows the propelling device to be pivoted as desired for purposev of the game but also provides adequate support for the` device through the frictional contact between the ball and socket surfaces.

In Figs. 6ay and 6b different resilient banking strips are illustrated. Fig. 6a shows a wedge shaped resilient strip as used on the side walls 11 and Fig, 6 bshowsa truncated prism shaped strip, as used on the rear Wall 11a., The: strips for any particular wall will vary in length to correspond to the spaces between Wall openings 7'.. The. irregular spacing of the bankingv strips makes: it. impossible to bank a pitched ball with that degree of. certainty obtainablev with a continuous banking material, as isv normally used for billiards. The, natureV of the ball, whether weighted, out of round, or the like, also. increases the fortuitous path of travel of a pitched ball.

In addition, locating the pitching device atthe same end of the gameboard as the batting device allows ballsv to be propelled by the player acting as pitcher with much more craftiness than would be the case were the balls to be delivered to= the batting device direct without bank'- ing them. To deliver a ball, capable of describing a curved course or otherwise, from pitching device' lto batting device, with said pitching device being located at the 1opposite side ofthe game board to the batting device, would require the distance between said pitching device and said batting device to be about double the distance required when using deecting banking strips.

In Fig. 8 a modied form of playing iield is shown in which a number of resilient banking members, such as 13a, 13b are disposed on the outiield area of the iield and secured to the base member in any desired manner. The members 13a 13b may be used in place of or in addition to the side and rear wall banking members 13. They have the advantage of permitting more strategic placement on the playing iield than the wall members and in addition serve to trap a ball to the rear thereof and variably deilect it into one or the other of the ball traps. The field banking members may be of a variety of shapes to permit variable ball ltravel such as the multiple banking indicated by the deflection lines in connection with banking member 13a, ball entrapment as shown in connection with member 13b, and the like.

Figs. 9 and 10 show a further variation in which the base member 10a is provided With a number of equally spaced apertures by which the banking members 13e may be retained in variable positions on the playing eld. The banking members, as shown in Fig. l0, have spaced depending studs 51 receivable in the openings 50. Thus the position of any banking member may be changed and a variety of shapes may be employed to increase the playing possiblities of the game.

In Figs. 11 and 12 another form* of banking members is shown, each including a bar permanent magnet 52 which may be faced on one side with a resilient banking surface 53, as shown at 13d, 13e 0r on both sides as shown at 13f. In using the magnetic banking members the playing field, at least in the outfield area, has an iron or steel sheet 54 incorporated therein. As will be evident, the banking members, such as 13d, 13e and 13f may be positioned by the players any place within the area covered by the sheet 54.

It will be understood that many changes may be made in the details of construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the essential attributes of the invention and, if desired, the game board may be completely enclosed and incorporated with coin controlled apparatus.

What I claim is:

1. A baseball game apparatus comprising a game board having a base member forming a playing field having an inlield area and an outfield area, walls extending upwardly from said base member and forming the contines of said playing iield, manually operable ball propelling means mounted upon said board and in a position for projecting a ball in a variably selected direction toward at least one of said walls forming the confines of said outfield area, a ball batting mechanism cornprising a pivotally mounted bat disposed on said board in said intield area adjacent another one of said walls, means for guiding and batting mechanism laterally of said field along said last mentioned wall, manually operable means for eiecting a swinging movement of said bat in any position of lateral movement of said batting mechanism, said field having a plurality of ball receiving recesses disposed in the outfield area, and resilient banking means also disposed in said outfield area, whereby a projected or batted ball may be trapped in one of said recesses or deflected by said banking means.

2. A ball game apparatus, as defined in claim 1, in which said batting mechanism includes a second bat, each of said bats being pivotally mounted to swing in separate paths and manual means for operating said second bat independently of said rst mentioned bat..

3. A ball game apparatus, as defined in claim 2 in which said manual bat operating means comprises a pistol grip housing, and an individual trigger operatively associated with each bat.

4. A ball game apparatus, as dened in claim l, in which said ball propelling means is provided with means for pivotally mounting the same on said board.

5. A ball game apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which said ball propelling means is provided with a pistol grip and ball socket means for mounting said propelling means on said board.

6. A baseball game apparatus, as defined in claim l, in which said recesses are disposed at spaced positions along predetermined ones of said Walls and said banking means is positioned adjacent said wall between said recesses.

7. A ball game apparatus as dened in claim 6, in which said resilient banking means includes ball deflecting faces disposed at an angle to the face of said wall.

8. A baseball game apparatus, as dened in claim 1 in which said banking means, at least in part, is disposed between said batting mechanism and at least some of said recesses.

9. A baseball game apparatus, as defined in claim 1, comprising means for detachably securing said banking means to said board in a plurality of diierent positions.

10. A baseball game apparatus as detined in claim 9 in which said securing means comprises mechanical elements.

11. A baseball game apparatus, as defined in claim 9 in which said ysecuring means comprises magnetic elements.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENT'S 1,571,469 Fredette Feb. 2, 1926 1,896,684 Cutting et al. Feb. 7, 1933 2,645,489 Burgess July 14, 1953 

